Greetings and polite phrases
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halló | hello | hah-LOH | Halló, ég heiti Anna.Hello, my name is Anna. |
| Góðan daginn | good day | GOH-thahn DIE-in | Góðan daginn, gaman að sjá þig.Good day, nice to see you. |
| Takk | thanks | TAHK | Takk fyrir hjálpina.Thanks for the help. |
| Takk fyrir | thank you | TAHK FIR-ir | Takk fyrir kaffið.Thank you for the coffee. |
| Já | yes | YOW | Já, ég skil.Yes, I understand. |
| Nei | no | NAY | Nei, takk.No, thank you. |
| Fyrirgefðu | excuse me / sorry | FIR-ir-gehv-thu | Fyrirgefðu, hvar er klósettið?Excuse me, where is the bathroom? |
| Bless | goodbye | BLESS | Bless, sjáumst á morgun.Bye, see you tomorrow. |
| Sjáumst | see you | SYOW-umst | Sjáumst seinna!See you later! |
| Gaman að kynnast þér | nice to meet you | GAH-man ath KIN-nast thyer | Gaman að kynnast þér, ég heiti Jón.Nice to meet you, my name is Jón. |
Numbers
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| einn | one | AYTN | Ég á eitt epli.I have one apple. |
| tveir | two | TVAYR | Ég á tvö epli.I have two apples. |
| þrír | three | THREER | Ég á þrjú epli.I have three apples. |
| fjórir | four | FYOH-rir | Ég á fjögur epli.I have four apples. |
| fimm | five | FIM | Ég á fimm epli.I have five apples. |
| sex | six | SEX | Ég á sex epli.I have six apples. |
| sjö | seven | SHUR | Ég á sjö epli.I have seven apples. |
| átta | eight | OWT-tah | Ég á átta epli.I have eight apples. |
| níu | nine | NEE-oo | Ég á níu epli.I have nine apples. |
| tíu | ten | TEE-oo | Ég á tíu epli.I have ten apples. |
Colors
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rauður | red | ROY-thur | Þetta er rauður bíll.This is a red car. |
| blár | blue | BLOWR | Himinninn er blár.The sky is blue. |
| grænn | green | GRAINN | Þetta er grænn bíll.This is a green car. |
| gulur | yellow | GU-lur | Þetta er gulur bíll.This is a yellow car. |
| svartur | black | SVAR-tur | Kötturinn er svartur.The cat is black. |
| hvítur | white | KVEE-tur | Hundurinn er hvítur.The dog is white. |
| fjólublár | purple | FYOH-lu-blowr | Þetta er fjólublár bíll.This is a purple car. |
| brúnn | brown | BROONN | Hesturinn er brúnn.The horse is brown. |
Family members
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| faðir | father | FAH-thir | Faðir minn er læknir.My father is a doctor. |
| móðir | mother | MOH-thir | Móðir mín er kennari.My mother is a teacher. |
| bróðir | brother | BROH-thir | Bróðir minn er ungur.My brother is young. |
| systir | sister | SIS-tir | Systir mín er glöð.My sister is happy. |
| sonur | son | SOH-nur | Sonur minn er sex ára.My son is six years old. |
| dóttir | daughter | DOHT-tir | Dóttir mín er fimm ára.My daughter is five years old. |
| afi | grandfather | AH-vi | Afi minn býr á Íslandi.My grandfather lives in Iceland. |
| amma | grandmother | AHM-mah | Amma mín eldar góðan mat.My grandmother cooks good food. |
| eiginmaður | husband | AY-gin-mah-thur | Eiginmaður hennar er læknir.Her husband is a doctor. |
| eiginkona | wife | AY-gin-koh-na | Eiginkona hans er kennari.His wife is a teacher. |
Food and drink
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| brauð | bread | BROYTH | Ég borða brauð á morgnana.I eat bread in the mornings. |
| vatn | water | VAHT-n | Ég drekk vatn á hverjum degi.I drink water every day. |
| mjólk | milk | MYOHLK | Barnið drekkur mjólk.The child drinks milk. |
| kaffi | coffee | KAHF-fi | Ég drekk kaffi á morgnana.I drink coffee in the mornings. |
| fiskur | fish | FIS-kur | Við borðum fisk í kvöld.We are eating fish tonight. |
| kjöt | meat | KYUHT | Hann borðar kjöt í hádeginu.He eats meat at lunch. |
| ostur | cheese | OS-tur | Þessi ostur er góður.This cheese is good. |
| epli | apple | EHP-li | Eplið er rautt.The apple is red. |
| súpa | soup | SOO-pa | Súpan er heit.The soup is hot. |
| sykur | sugar | SI-kur | Ég vil ekki sykur í kaffið.I don't want sugar in the coffee. |
Travel
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| bíll | car | BEETL | Ég á rauðan bíl.I have a red car. |
| rúta | bus | ROO-ta | Rútan fer klukkan átta.The bus leaves at eight o'clock. |
| hótel | hotel | HOH-tel | Hótelið er í miðbænum.The hotel is in the city center. |
| vegabréf | passport | VEH-ga-bryef | Þetta er vegabréfið mitt.This is my passport. |
| kort | map | KORT | Getur þú sýnt mér kortið?Can you show me the map? |
| leigubíll | taxi | LAY-gu-beetl | Við tókum leigubíl á flugvöllinn.We took a taxi to the airport. |
| miði | ticket | MITH-i | Ég keypti miða í bíó.I bought a ticket to the cinema. |
| gata | street | GAH-ta | Húsið er á þessari götu.The house is on this street. |
| ferðataska | suitcase | FER-tha-tahs-ka | Ferðataskan mín er þung.My suitcase is heavy. |
| flugvöllur | airport | FLUG-vuhtl-ur | Flugvöllurinn er langt í burtu.The airport is far away. |
Time and days
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| dagur | day | DAH-gur | Í dag er fallegur dagur.Today is a beautiful day. |
| vika | week | VI-ka | Það eru sjö dagar í viku.There are seven days in a week. |
| mánuður | month | MOW-nu-thur | Desember er síðasti mánuður ársins.December is the last month of the year. |
| ár | year | OWR | Þetta ár er gott.This year is good. |
| í dag | today | EE dahg | Í dag er sunnudagur.Today is Sunday. |
| á morgun | tomorrow | OW MOR-gun | Á morgun förum við til Reykjavíkur.Tomorrow we are going to Reykjavik. |
| í gær | yesterday | EE gyre | Í gær var kalt.Yesterday it was cold. |
| morgunn | morning | MOR-gunn | Morgunninn er kaldur.The morning is cold. |
| kvöld | evening | KVUHLD | Kvöldið er rólegt.The evening is calm. |
| nótt | night | NOHT | Nóttin er dimm.The night is dark. |
Common verbs
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| að vera | to be | ath VEH-ra | Ég er glaður.I am happy. |
| að hafa | to have | ath HAH-va | Ég hef tíma núna.I have time now. |
| að fara | to go | ath FAH-ra | Ég fer til vinnu.I go to work. |
| að borða | to eat | ath BOR-tha | Ég borða morgunmat.I eat breakfast. |
| að drekka | to drink | ath DREHK-ka | Ég drekk te.I drink tea. |
| að tala | to speak | ath TAH-la | Ég tala íslensku.I speak Icelandic. |
| að sjá | to see | ath SYOW | Ég sé fjallið.I see the mountain. |
| að vilja | to want | ath VIL-ya | Ég vil kaffi.I want coffee. |
| að gera | to do | ath GEH-ra | Hvað ertu að gera?What are you doing? |
| að lesa | to read | ath LEH-sa | Ég les bók.I read a book. |
Adjectives
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| stór | big | STOHR | Þetta er stór bíll.This is a big car. |
| lítill | small | LEE-tidl | Þetta er lítill hundur.This is a small dog. |
| fallegur | beautiful / handsome | FAHT-leh-gur | Hann er fallegur.He is handsome. |
| góður | good | GOH-thur | Þetta er góður matur.This is good food. |
| slæmur | bad | SLYE-mur | Þetta er slæmur dagur.This is a bad day. |
| heitur | hot | HAY-tur | Dagurinn er heitur.The day is hot. |
| kaldur | cold | KAHL-dur | Veturinn er kaldur.The winter is cold. |
| nýr | new | NEER | Þetta er nýr bíll.This is a new car. |
Question words
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hvað | what | KVATH | Hvað er þetta?What is this? |
| hver | who | KVEHR | Hver ert þú?Who are you? |
| hvar | where | KVAR | Hvar býrð þú?Where do you live? |
| hvenær | when | KVEH-nire | Hvenær kemur þú?When are you coming? |
| hvernig | how | KVER-nig | Hvernig hefur þú það?How are you? |
| af hverju | why | ahv KVER-yu | Af hverju grætur barnið?Why is the child crying? |
Weather and nature
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| veður | weather | VEH-thur | Veðrið er gott í dag.The weather is good today. |
| sól | sun | SOHL | Sólin skín í dag.The sun is shining today. |
| rigning | rain | RIG-ning | Það er rigning úti.It is raining outside. |
| snjór | snow | SNYOHR | Það er mikill snjór úti.There is a lot of snow outside. |
| vindur | wind | VIN-dur | Vindurinn er sterkur.The wind is strong. |
| fjall | mountain | FYATL | Fjallið er hátt.The mountain is tall. |
| haf | sea | HAHV | Hafið er blátt.The sea is blue. |
| eldfjall | volcano | EHLD-fyatl | Eldfjallið er virkt.The volcano is active. |
| jökull | glacier | YUH-kutl | Jökullinn er stór.The glacier is big. |
| himinn | sky | HI-min | Himinninn er heiðskír.The sky is clear. |
Animals
| Icelandic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hundur | dog | HUN-dur | Hundurinn minn er vinalegur.My dog is friendly. |
| köttur | cat | KUHT-tur | Kötturinn sefur allan daginn.The cat sleeps all day. |
| hestur | horse | HES-tur | Hesturinn hleypur hratt.The horse runs fast. |
| fugl | bird | FUGL | Fuglinn syngur á morgnana.The bird sings in the mornings. |
| sauður | sheep | SOY-thur | Það eru margir sauðir á Íslandi.There are many sheep in Iceland. |
| kýr | cow | KEER | Kýrin gefur mjólk.The cow gives milk. |
| björn | bear | BYUHRN | Björninn er stór og sterkur.The bear is big and strong. |
| refur | fox | REH-vur | Refurinn er slægur.The fox is cunning. |
Study tips for Icelandic
- Stress almost always falls on the first syllable of a word, which makes pronunciation more predictable than in many languages.
- Learn the letters þ (like th in think) and ð (like th in this) early, since they appear in many common words.
- Icelandic nouns have three genders and four cases, so expect a word's ending to change depending on its role in the sentence.
- Numbers one to four change form to match the gender of the noun they count, so learn all forms of einn (one) early.
- Compound words are common in Icelandic, so learning smaller word parts helps you guess the meaning of longer words.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Icelandic?
The most common greeting is halló, and góðan daginn (good day) is a slightly more formal option.
Is Icelandic difficult for English speakers to learn?
Icelandic has complex grammar with four cases and three genders, but its pronunciation is fairly regular once you learn the alphabet, including the letters þ and ð.
What are the most useful Icelandic words for beginners?
Basic greetings, numbers, question words, and common verbs like vera (to be) and fara (to go) give beginners the most practical value early on.